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The Egyptian Air Force, or EAF (Arabic: القوات الجوية المصرية, Al-Qūwāt al-Gawwīyä al-Miṣrīyä), is the aviation branch of the Egyptian armed forces. The EAF is headed by an Air Marshal (Lieutenant General equivalent). Currently, the commander of the Egyptian Air Force is Air Marshal Reda Mahmoud Hafez Mohamed. The force's motto is 'Higher and higher for the sake of glory' (Arabic: إلى العلا في سبيل المجد, I‘la’ al-a‘là fī sabīl al-magd). Currently the EAF has over 586 combat aircraft and 149 armed helicopters,[citation needed]. The backbone of the Egyptian Air Force is 190+ (220 received, 18 lost in mishaps/accidents and 7 F16A/B grounded) F-16 Fighter Jets and it is the 4th largest operator of F-16's in the world. [3]
[edit] History[edit] Establishment In late 1928, the Parliament of Egypt proposed the creation of an Egyptian Air Force. The Egyptian ministry of war announced that it needed volunteers for the new arm to become the first four Egyptian military pilots. Over 200 Egyptian officers volunteered, but in the end only three succeeded in passing strict medical tests and technical examinations. These three went to RAF number 4 Flying Training School at Abu Suwayer near the Suez Canal, where they were trained on a variety of aircraft. After graduation they travelled to England for specialized training. On November 2, 1930 King Fuad announced the creation of the Egyptian Army Air Force (EAAF) and in September 1931, the British De Havilland aircraft company won a contract to supply Egypt with 10 De Havilland Gipsy Moth trainers.  The first commander of the EAAF was Canadian squadron leader Victor Hubert Tait. Tait selected staff and weapons and built air-bases. In 1934 the British government provided 10 Avro 626 aircraft, which were the first real Egyptian military planes. A further 17 626s together with Hawker Audaxes for army cooperation and close support and Avro Ansons for VIP work followed shortly afterwards.  In 1937 the Egyptian Army Air Force was separated from the army command and became an independent branch named the Royal Egyptian Air Force (REAF). New bases were built in the Suez canal region and the western desert. In 1938 the REAF received 2 squadrons of Gloster Gladiator biplane fighters and a squadron of then modern Westland Lysander reconnaissance aircraft, (Egypt was the last nation to use the Lysander in action, during the 1948 Arab campaign against Israel). [edit] World War IIMain article: World War II As the Egyptian border was threatened by an Italian and German invasion, the Royal Air Force established more bases in Egypt during World War II. The Egyptian Air Force was sometimes treated as a part of the Royal Air Force, at other times a strict policy of neutrality was followed. As a result of this vacillation, few additional aircraft were supplied by Britain, however the arm did receive its first modern fighters, Hawker Hurricanes and a small number of Curtiss P-40 Tomahawks. In the immediate post war period, cheap war surplus aircraft, including a large number of Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IXs were acquired. The REAF also bought Macchi MC205V fighters and trainers from Italy. [edit] The 1948 WarMain article: 1948 Arab-Israeli War Following the British withdrawal from Palestine and the founding of Israel on 14 May 1948, as part of its commitment to the Arab League Egypt declared war on nascent Israeli state. The Egyptian Air Force contributed to this conflict with C-47 Dakotas performing as light bombers and Spitfires and managed to shoot down two Israeli aircraft. On May 22 Egyptian Air Force Spitfires attacked the Royal Air Force airfield at Ramat David, believing the base had already been taken over by Israeli forces. The first raid surprised the Royal Air Force, and resulted in the destruction of several RAF aircraft on the ground and the death of an airman. The British were uncertain whether the attacking Spitfires had come from Arab or Israeli forces. When a second raid followed shortly afterwards it met a well prepared response, and the entire Egyptian force was shot down - the last aircraft being baited for some time as the RAF pilots attempted to get a close look at its markings. Relations with Britain were soon restored, although poor relations with Israel ensured that arms purchases continued. New Mk22 Spitfires were purchased to replace the earlier models. In late 1949 Egypt received its first jet fighter, it was the British Gloster Meteor F4 and shortly after De Havilland Vampire FB5s. However the policy of the Nasser government lead to Egypt also acquiring aircraft from the Eastern Block. The first Soviet aircraft arrived in Egypt in 1955. Initial deliveries included MiG-15 fighters, Ilyushin Il-28 bombers, Il-14 transports, and Yak-11 trainers. Instructors from Czechoslovakia accompanied these aircraft. This period in Egypt's air force history also yielded the first indigenous aircraft production as the country began manufacturing its own Czech-designed Gomhouria Bü 181 Bestmann primary trainers. [edit] The Suez CrisisMain article: Suez Crisis After Nasser decided to nationalize the Suez Canal in 1956, Egypt was attacked by Israel, France, and the United Kingdom in what came to be known as the Suez Crisis. Heavy losses were sustained by the Egyptian side. The conflict, though devastating militarily, turned out to be a political victory for Egypt and resulted in the total withdrawal of the aggressor forces from the country. It also forced the EAF to begin rebuilding its Air Force with non-British help. Soon after the war, Egypt formed a political union with Syria and Yemen and the Egyptian Air Force became known as the United Arab Republic Air Force. By the mid-1960s, British aircraft were replaced completely by Soviet hardware. The Soviet Union became the principal supplier of the EAF and many other Arab states. This allowed the EAF to greatly modernize and boost its combat effectiveness. The MiG-21 Fishbed arrived in the early 1960s, bringing with it a Mach 2 capability. The MiG-21 would remain Egypt's primary fighter for the next two decades. In 1967, Egypt had 200 MiG-21s. The air force also began flying the Sukhoi Su-7 fighter/bomber in the mid-1960s. Egypt also produced Helwan HA-300 its first supersonic aircraft. [edit] The Yemen WarMain article: North Yemen Civil War The Royalist side received support from Saudi Arabia, while the Republicans were supported by Egypt and the Soviet Union. The fighting was fierce, featuring heavy urban combat as well as battles in the countryside. Both foreign irregular and conventional forces were also involved. Strategically, the Yemen War was an opportunity for Israel. It stagnated Egyptian military plans for the reinforcement of the Sinai by shifting the Egyptian military focus to another theater of operation. Egyptian historian Mohammed Heikal writes that Israel provided arms shipments and also cultivated relationships with hundreds of European mercenaries fighting for the royalists in Yemen. Israel established a covert air-supply bridge from Djibouti to North Yemen. The war also gave Israelis the opportunity to assess Egyptian combat tactics and adaptability. Egyptian air and naval forces began bombing and shelling raids in the Saudi southwestern city of Najran and the coastal town of Jizan, which were staging points for royalist forces. In response, the Saudis purchased a British Thunderbird air defense system and developed their airfield in Khamis Mushayt. Riyadh also attempted to convince Washington to respond on its behalf. President Kennedy sent only a wing of jet fighters and bombers to Dhahran Airbase, demonstrating to Nasser the seriousness of American commitment to defending U.S. interests in Saudi Arabia. [edit] The Six-Day WarMain article: Six-Day War In the 1967 Six-Day War the EAF's combat capacity was severely damaged after the Israeli Air Force destroyed its airbases in a sudden attack (Operation Focus). Despite significant losses, individual EAF pilots nevertheless took off to challenge the attackers and blunt their attack, achieving a number of air-to-air kills. During the last four days the EAF also managed to undertake 150 sorties against Israeli units throughout the Sinai[4] After the war, the Soviet Union replenished EAF stocks, sending large numbers of aircraft and trainers to Egypt in order to help revitalize the EAF. [edit] The War of AttritionMain article: War of Attrition Following the 1967 defeat, Egypt carried out a prolonged campaign of attrition against Israel. The Egyptian Air Force applied the lessons it learnt earlier from the Israelis. A 32-year-old deputy MiG-21 regiment commander who has been flying since he was 15 recalls: "During the war of attrition, the Israeli air force had a favorite ambush tactic", he told Aviation Week and Space Technology. "They would penetrate with two aircraft at medium altitude where they would be quickly picked up by radar, We would scramble four or eight to attack them. But they had another dozen fighters trailing at extremely low altitude below radar coverage. As we climbed to the attack they would zoom up behind and surprise us. My regiment lost MiGs to this ambush tactic three times. But we learned the lesson and practiced the same tactics. In the final fights over Deversoir, we ambushed some Mirages the same way, and my own 'finger four' formation shot down four Mirages with the loss of one MiG." Yet the EAF couldn't regain its lost capability due to reconstitution following the 1967 debacle. With so many inexperienced pilots having to be exposed to combat, many were shot down while the survivors brought back valuable experience. Several EAF pilots scored victories against the IAF during this period. [edit] October War 1973Main article: Yom Kippur War The EAF was involved in the initial raid with over 220 aircraft (including the MiG-21MF) taking part in the surprise attack. Unlike their Syrian counterparts, EAF aircraft evaded Israeli radars by flying below detection height. Their attacks largely went undetected and the IAF's belated response flew right into the teeth of the Egyptian air defence umbrella. EAF aircraft were held in reserve after that point, mainly concentrating on air field defence in conjunction with the SA-3 'Pechora' while the more mobile SA-6 'Gainful' protected Egyptian forces at low and medium level, aided by the ZSU-23-4SP and shoulder-held SA-7 SAMs. Despite these limitations, the EAF conducted offensive sorties from time to time, with the Tu-16 firing AS-5 'Kelt' stand off weapons causing considerable panic behind Israeli lines[citation needed]. The Su-7BM was used for quick strafe attacks on Israeli columns and the Mirage IIIE (sometimes confused with the Mirage 5) donated by Libya carried out long-range attacks deep inside Sinai at Bir Gifgafa. However, when Israeli armoured forces used a gap between the two Egyptian armies to cross the Suez Canal west into Africa (Operation Stouthearted Men), in the process destroying Egyptian SAM sites on the west bank, the EAF was forced into battle against the better equipped IAF. The EAF scored victories and continued to contest IAF operations, while also launching attacks on Israeli ground forces in the East Bank of the Suez Canal. In most of these engagements, Egyptian MiG-21s (of all types) challenged Israeli Mirage IIICJs or Neshers. The IAF did not operate freely and did not have the air supremacy it enjoyed during the previous conflict, the 1967 war. Egyptian MiGs were used with their better maneuverability that most IAF air crafts in that war to conduct new tactics and lessons learned from the 1967 war. [edit] El-Mansourah air battleDuring the Yom Kippur War, in the "El-Mansoura air battle", Israel launched a large scale raid with over 100 aircraft – F-4 Phantoms and A-4 Skyhawks – attempting to hit the huge air base at el-Mansourah. It culminated in an almost continuous dogfight lasting no less than 53 minutes. According to Egyptian estimates over 180 aircraft were involved at one time, the majority belonging to the Israelis. At 10 pm local time, Cairo Radio broadcast "Communiqué Number 39", announcing that there had been several air battles that day over a number of Egyptian airfields, that most intensive being over the northern Delta area. It also claimed that 15 enemy aircraft had been downed by Egyptian fighters for the loss of three Egyptian aircraft, while an even greater number of Israelis had been shot down by the Army and the Air Defense Forces over Sinai and the Suez Canal. For its part, Israel Radio claimed, early the following morning, that the IAF had shot down 15 Egyptian aircraft, a figure subsequently reduced to seven.[5]. Later on, the Egyptian government changed the country’s “Air Force Day” from November 2 to October 14, to commemorate the Mansourah air battle[6]. [edit] Libyan-Egyptian WarMain article: Libyan-Egyptian War After the cease-fire, there were some more skirmishes between Libyan and Egyptian fighters. In one example, two LARAF MiG-23MS engaged two EAF MiG-21MF which had been upgraded to carry Western weaponry. The Libyan pilots made the mistake of trying to manoeuvre with the more nimble Egyptian fighters, and one MiG-23MS was shot down by Maj. Sal Mohammad, while the other used the speed advantage to escape. [7] [edit] Operation Bright Star Operation Bright Star is a joint / combined exercise by American and Egyptian forces in Egypt involving tactical air, ground, naval and special operations forces field training, conducted every two years. Bright Star was first conducted in the summer of 1980 as a single service bilateral ground maneuver event involving only ground forces from the United States and Egypt. Bright Star began to evolve in 1985 as air forces of both the U.S. and Egypt were added to this ground forces exercise. This marked the beginning of Bright Star as a joint endeavor for the US– meaning more than one U.S. service was involved. Special forces and naval forces of both countries joined the exercise in 1987. Other allied nations also join Bright Star exercises in Egypt including France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom. [edit] Upgrade and development Beginning 1982, the EAF began receiving F-16 fighters under the Peace Vector Program. In 1986, it received Mirage 2000 fighters and was licensed to manufacture them with 20 being produced with one lost in a training sortie. Egypt also license built Alphajets, Gazelles and Embraer EMB 312 Tucano airplanes. The Camp David Accords caused a change in the composition of the EAF. The EAF began to rely on American, French and even some Chinese planes. The addition of these planes along with the ones already in the EAF gave it an interesting composition. In 1987 the E-2C Hawkeye Airborne Early Warning (AEW) entered service and was upgraded with advanced AN/APS-145 radars. The EAF also upgraded its F-16 fighters to enable them to fire the AGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missile. The EAF also operates 35 AH-64 Apache attack helicopter which were initially delivered as AH-64A variant but were later upgraded to AH-64D standard[8]. The Egypt Air Force had rebuilt their AH-64A's into the D model. CH-47D's are also on order. The Egyptian Navy recently received the SH-2G Seasprite to replace and supplement their older Sea King and Gazelle helicopters[9]. 74 Grob G-115's and 120 K-8 Karakorum trainers were ordered to update the fleet[9]. [edit] Future requirementsIn the late 1990s, then Air Marshal Ahmed Shafik (and the incumbent Civil Aviation minister) expressed the ambitions of the Egyptian Air Force for the 21st century. The EAF hopes to obtain the modern technology it needs to deter any aggression, help its allies, and protect Egyptian national security. This technology includes space and air reconnaissance systems; airborne command and control aircraft; advanced next generation fighters; and air refueling and heavy transport aircraft. In 2002, Egypt requested 12 F-15E Strike Eagle strike fighter from the US. Israel quickly moved to block the sale, citing that in all Egypt's recent military exercises Israel was the target. The Americans refused to ban the sale of F-15s to Egypt at first but later agreed when Israel presented further evidence that Israel was in fact the "enemy" in all of Egypt's military exercises.[10][11][12] Due to the refusal of the USA government to allow such weapons to be acquired by the EAF and also due to the failed deal for 4.5 billion in 2005 for 60-100 F-16C/D Block 60/62. On November 6, 2006, Egypt began talks with Mikoyan over the possible sale of 40 MiG-29SMT fighters. In 2007, Egypt further examined prospects for delivery of a larger batch of MiG-29SMTs (60-80 planes) & 24-40 Yak-130 in the advanced trainer/light support role to replace the aging Dassault-Breguet/Dornier Alpha Jet plus a deal for 20-25 Sukhoi Su-35 for air superiority role. The deal was encouraged by an effort by Russia to regain Egypt as an ally. However, these deals have not been confirmed yet. Egypt had also made several deals with Ukrainian companies for the upgrade of their old MiG-21 aircraft. The upgrade will include the implementation of Helmet-mounted-sight and R-73 missiles coupled with LCDs and few engines modifications. It is not clear whether the upgrade will include the insertion of the Kopyo Radar.[13][14][15] EAF will receive a new batch of F-16s . The new batch consists of 24 F-16s Block 52+ aircrafts with associated support equipments and kits for JDAM bombs to upgrade the Mk-84 GP bombs already in service to the JDAM level . [edit] The EAF todayCurrently, the backbone of the EAF are 220 + 24 on order F-16's. The EAF also operates 19 Mirage 2000's. It continues to fly 32 upgraded F-4 Phantoms, 60 Dassault Mirage Vs, 26 C-130 Hercules. 8 E-2C Hawkeye AWACS aircraft which are being upgraded to Hawkeye 2000 standard provide AEW&C capability. But the EAF is still facing restrictions regarding its plans to procure 5th generation fighters , air refueling capabilities and guided/precision munitions. [edit] Insignia The Roundel of the EAF consists of three circles, with the outside one being red, the middle one white, and the inner one being black. These are the colors of the Egyptian flag. The former roundels of the EAF included a similar variant with two green stars used from 1961 to 1973 thus the current insignia was also used during that war, and in both cases the current Egyptian flag was used , and one with the old Egyptian crescent and three stars on a green background. [edit] Aircraft Inventory
[edit] Presidential and Governmental Fleet In addition to Air Force aircraft, a number of aircraft are directly under government control (Presidential Fleet), including:
[edit] In Reserve
[edit] Obsolete and Retired
[edit] CommandersThe following individuals have had command of the Egyptian Air Force:[26] [edit] Royal Egyptain Air Force commanders
[edit] Egyptian Air Force Chiefs of Staff[edit] Egyptian Air Force and Defense commanders[edit] Egyptian Air Force commanders
[edit] References
[edit] External links
[edit] See also
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